Demise of our Patron Com.Ram Pravesh Singh (1934-2008)

Hello Brethren,


I am here informing you all of the sad demise of my father,supporter of Indian system of Medicine (Our Patron), a prominent Kisan Leader of Bihar, Comrade Ram Pravesh Singh (1934 - 2008) today at 2.30 pm. He was one of the most respected social and political figures of old Saran District.


He joined the Communist movement in 1953, at a age of less than 20 years under the leadership of Comrade Indradeep Sinha and Pt. Karyanand Sharma and remained a dedicated Communist throughout his life.


As a young leader of All India Students Federation (AISF) at Bihar University, he led the delegation to meet the then Prime Minister Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru in Patna on the burning issues of Students in Bihar.


Later, he was elected as the Jt. Secretary of Saran District Unit of the Communist Party of India.


When a new District was formed in 1972 , he took charge of Kisan Sabha and Communst Party in Siwan.


He formed the two Peasantry Organizations in early 1980s called Bihar Rajya Aloo Utpadak Sangha and Bihar Rajya Ganna Utpadak Sangha and remained their General Secretary throughout. He was a member of All India Kisan Council for over two decades and till the end of his life.


He was chosen as a member of Bihar State council of CPI in 1988 where he represented for over a decade. He also remained the Secretary of Bihar Rajya Kisan Sabha founded by none other than Swami Sahajanand Saraswati for nearly 15 years.


He came to full time Social Work by resigning his Govt Service as a teacher at Pahlejpur High School in Goreakothi and was known as Ma;saheb in his political circles.

Dr.Bhaskar K.S.

Massage Therapy May Ease Pain and Improve Mood in Advanced Cancer Patients

People with advanced cancer often experience pain that causes physical and emotional distress, which leads to a decrease in functional ability and quality of life. Symptom relief is an important part of end-of-life care, and small studies have suggested that massage therapy may benefit people with advanced cancer.

In a study funded in part by NCCAM, researchers investigated the benefits of massage versus simple touch therapy (placing both hands on specific body sites) in patients with advanced cancer. This multisite study—conducted at 15 U.S. hospices in the Population-based Palliative Care Research Network—included 380 participants with advanced cancer who were experiencing moderate-to-severe pain. Participants were randomly assigned to receive six 30-minute treatment sessions of either massage or simple touch therapy over a 2-week period.

Results of the study showed that both groups experienced statistically significant improvements in pain relief, physical and emotional distress, and quality of life. Immediate improvement in pain and mood was greater with massage than with simple touch; however, sustained effects of these therapies were not observed.

The researchers concluded that massage therapy may provide some immediate relief for patients with advanced cancer. They also suggest that simple touch, which can be provided by family members and volunteers, may benefit these patients.

Reference
Kutner J, Smith M, Corbin S, et al. Massage therapy versus simple touch to improve pain and mood in patients with advanced cancer: a randomized trial. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2008;149(6):369–379.

Aloe Vera

Keywords: burn plant, lily of the desert, elephant's gall, laxative, aloin, aloe-emodin, barbaloin, abrasions

Introduction
What It Is Used For
How It Is Used
What the Science Says
Side Effects and Cautions
Sources
For More Information

IntroductionThis fact sheet provides basic information about aloe vera—common names, uses, potential side effects, and resources for more information. Aloe vera's use can be traced back 6,000 years to early Egypt, where the plant was depicted on stone carvings. Known as the "plant of immortality," aloe was presented as a burial gift to deceased pharaohs.

Common Names—aloe vera, aloe, burn plant, lily of the desert, elephant's gall

Latin Names—Aloe vera, Aloe barbadensis
What It Is Used For
Traditionally, aloe was used topically to heal wounds and for various skin conditions, and orally as a laxative.

Today, in addition to traditional uses, people take aloe orally to treat a variety of conditions, including diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, and osteoarthritis. People use aloe topically for osteoarthritis, burns, and sunburns.

Aloe vera gel can be found in hundreds of skin products, including lotions and sunblocks.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved aloe vera as a natural food flavoring.


How It Is Used

Aloe leaves contain a clear gel that is often used as a topical ointment.
The green part of the leaf that surrounds the gel can be used to produce a juice or a dried substance (called latex) that is taken by mouth.


What the Science Says

Aloe latex contains strong laxative compounds. Products made with various components of aloe (aloin, aloe-emodin, and barbaloin) were at one time regulated by the FDA as oral over-the-counter (OTC) laxatives. In 2002, the FDA required that all OTC aloe laxative products be removed from the U.S. market or reformulated because the companies that manufactured them did not provide the necessary safety data.
Early studies show that topical aloe gel may help heal burns and abrasions. One study, however, showed that aloe gel inhibits healing of deep surgical wounds. Aloe gel does not prevent burns from radiation therapy.
There is not enough scientific evidence to support aloe vera for any of its other uses.


Side Effects and Cautions

Use of topical aloe vera is not associated with significant side effects.
Abdominal cramps and diarrhea have been reported with oral use of aloe vera.
Diarrhea, caused by the laxative effect of oral aloe vera, can decrease the absorption of many drugs.

People with diabetes who use glucose-lowering medication should be cautious if also taking aloe by mouth because preliminary studies suggest aloe may lower blood glucose levels.

Tell your health care providers about any complementary and alternative practices you use. Give them a full picture of what you do to manage your health. This will help ensure coordinated and safe care.


Sources

Aloe. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database Web site. June 5, 2007.
Aloe (Aloe vera). Natural Standard Database Web site. Accessed on June 3, 2007.

Brain-Imaging Study Explores Analgesic Effect of Acupuncture

Although acupuncture has long been used to relieve pain, scientific understanding of how acupuncture might achieve an analgesic effect is incomplete. Previous research has linked acupuncture's effects to the neuronal networks and opioid (pain response) systems of the brain. In light of these findings, NCCAM-funded researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital recently used two imaging technologies—functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET)—to investigate how specific areas of the brain might be involved in acupuncture analgesia.

In the study, 12 people were exposed to heat pain and received either actual or sham acupuncture. Researchers used fMRI to examine the brain's pain responses before and after acupuncture. They used PET with a radioactive tracing substance to measure changes in opioid receptor binding during acupuncture.

The imaging results showed acupuncture-related changes in both of the brain's pain networks: the lateral network, which is associated with sensory aspects of pain perception, and the medial network, which is associated with affective aspects. However, the fMRI and PET results pointed to different areas in these networks, with one exception: both imaging technologies showed changes in the right medial orbitofrontal cortex—an indication that this area of the brain may be important in acupuncture analgesia.

The researchers note that their preliminary findings demonstrate that imaging studies using more than one imaging technique have potential for clarifying the neural mechanisms of acupuncture. They point out that similar studies with much larger samples might reveal other areas of the brain where fMRI and PET results converge.

Reference
Dougherty DD, Kong J, Webb M, et al. 2008. A combined [11C]diprenorphine PET study and fMRI study of acupuncture analgesia. Behavioural Brain Research. Nov. 2008;193(1):63–68.
Additional Resource
More information from NCCAM about acupuncture is available at nccam.nih.gov/health/acupuncture/.

World AIDS Day: Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise

HIV continues to be a great threat for public health around the world, despite the medical advanced during the last years in some countries”, explains the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) during the World AIDS Day 2008.

“If there is something more deadly than HIV is the complacency related to it”, indicates Dr. Mukesh Kapila, the IFRC’s Special Representative for HIV.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has the strong conviction of the importance to remind the international community that the fight against HIV has not been won yet and that in some zones the pandemic is on the rise, being women and children especially vulnerable.

“The fight against stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV must continue to be a priority. Likewise, IFRC works in its own lines through the ‘Red Cross Red Crescent +’ network, integrated by volunteers and staff members living with HIV, in that way the Red Cross and Red Crescent is a place where everyone feels included”, comments Dr. Mukesh.

In August 2008, the International Federation launched an appeal for 19,46 million dollars (22,3 million Swiss Francs) to finance the HIV programme in the Americas for the period of 2008 – 2010 that covers the 10 Red Cross National Societies in the Caribbean, Central America and South America: Argentina, Belize, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras and Jamaica.

This programme has as objective to reduce the vulnerability against HIV and its impact by preventing the infection; increasing the support, care and treatment; reducing the stigma and discrimination related to HIV; as well as strengthening the capacities of National Societies to carry out and expand HIV programmes.

“Our community-based approach is the most effective way to ensure that funds go directly to those who need them the most. This approach is cost-effective and it is based entirely in supporting communities to address their own challenges” adds Dr. Kapila.

The programme represents a great expansion of the Red Cross efforts to address HIV in the region and it aims to reach more than 7,000,000 people, by the end of 2010.

Poverty, discrimination and marginalization (including gender inequality) or environmental factors create vulnerability and increase the risk of infection of HIV among people. Women are particularly vulnerable to HIV due to cultural factors, their economic dependence to men and the sexual violence they undergo.

Even though, the highest HIV incidence is registered in Africa, the IFRC is also scaling-up its HIV programmes in other parts of the world, particularly in Asia, the Americas and Eastern Europe; where there is still a lot to be done to inform vulnerable groups about the risk of HIV. “The persistence of the stigma and discrimination of those who live with HIV is inacceptable in every community trying to address the challenge of HIV”, concludes Bernard Gardiner, head of the IFRC’s HIV Global Programme in Geneva.

IFRC is taking actions to support the people living with HIV and that are also affected by food insecurity, disasters and health crisis, as they can be the worse affected by such situations.

In Latin America, in 2007, new HIV infections summed up an estimated figure of 140,000, by which the total number of people living with HIV in Latin America increased to 1,700,000. During the same year, it was estimated that 63,000 people died due to AIDS in the region.

The global infection rates of HIV in Latin America registered few changes in the last decade. The main sources of HIV transmission are observed in men who have sex with men, sex workers and, to a lesser extent, users of injectable drugs.